Keeping it all in
by Arikae
Summary: A bad accident turns the Dukes' world upside down, but Bo finds dealing with it harder than anyone else.
1. The Accident

**Author's note: Firstly, thanks to Hazzard66 for helping me get my muse back. I was running out of ideas and thanks to her numerous ideas, I finally came up with this story. Secondly, I was asked to give Bo a break and torture Luke instead. I tried, but this is the best I could come up with. Still the story focuses more on Bo, I can't help it. Hope y'all like it!**

**Warning: Not beta-ed and hence I apologise for the grammatical errors.**

**Disclaimer: Again, I don't own the Dukes or any characters in the Dukes of Hazzard.**

Luke Duke was driving down Cottontail Road towards the town centre. He felt strange, like the General Lee was too empty. Luke turned his head to the passenger seat. No-one. It was strange to drive the General Lee without Bo next to him. He's driven the General without Bo before, but that was when Bo was either in Capital City or Atlanta. Today, Bo was back at the farm doing the chores. He had only just recovered from an ankle injury he had gotten while running away from Daisy's frying pan. Luke laughed as he thought about that day. Bo had accidentally dented Dixie when he was fixing the roof of the farm. The hammer had slipped from his hand and landed on the hood of Dixie. Daisy was so riled up she chased Bo around the farm with the frying pan. He would've got away but lost his footing while trying to avoid their newest baby goat. Bo was ordered to be off his feet for a week. Which brings Luke back to why he was driving the General while Bo was doing the chores. Luke had to do all the chores last week so Bo is making up for it this week. Still, as much as he was glad he didn't have to do the chores, it was strange not to have him in the car when he's still in Hazzard.

Luke was taken out of his thoughts by the sound of a siren. He sighed in frustration, when he realised he had driven through Rosco's speed trap without knowing it. Luke looked down at the CB when Rosco's voice came through.

"_Gjit...I've got you this time, Luke Duke. You pull over now, so I can give you a ticket. Kiew, kiew!"_

Luke grinned as he picked up the CB. "Rosco! What did I do now?"

"_Kiew, kiew...I got you speeding. You're driving 33 in a 30 zone. Ooooh...I gotcha, I gotcha."_

"Rosco, you have to catch me first!" Luke returned the transmitter to its holder and put the pedal to the floor, watching Rosco fall behind in the side mirror.

Rosco got excited. "Oooh, hot pursuit! I love it, I love it!" He floored the accelerator in an attempt to chase down Luke Duke.

Luke followed the road around the bend when a truck carrying piles of wood came out a side road. Luke's eyes widened at the situation in front of him. There was nowhere he could go and nothing on the road he could use as a ramp to jump it. He tried to brake, but he was going too fast. He pulled the wheel to the left causing him to spin and roll down the side of the road.

* * *

Bo had finished his morning chores and had his head under the hood of Dixie. Daisy had asked if he could take a look at it after his chores because it was making funny noises. He suddenly had a strange feeling causing him to jump and hitting his head on the hood. "Ow!" Bo got out and rubbed his head. He was glad no-one had seen him, especially Luke, he'd never hear the end of it. Bo frowned, not liking the sinking feeling he had in his stomach right now. He shook himself and went back to work.

* * *

Rosco came around the bend and braked when he saw the truck in the middle of the road and the driver looking down the hill. Rosco got out and froze when he spotted the General at the bottom of the hill, crushed against a tree. "Call an ambulance and Cooter at Cooter's Garage. Tell him to get out here." Rosco yelled at the driver of the truck as he made his way down the hill. "Luke Duke! Can you hear me?" He finally made it to the passenger's side of the car and looked in. He couldn't believe what he was seeing. Blood was running down Luke face. Rosco climbed into the General and gently tapped Luke's face. "Can you hear me, Luke? He don't look good." He didn't dare move Luke at all. Rosco climbed back out, his eyes, suspiciously wet.

"The ambulance will be here in ten minutes!" The truck driver yelled down at him. "And Cooter said he's on his way as well." Rosco climbed back up the hill and got onto his CB. "Enos, this is your superior ..." Rosco sighed and wiped his eyes, he didn't have it in him today to give his usual title. "Enos, this is your Sheriff. You gotcha ears on? Come back."

"_Yes Sir, Enos here. Sir."_ Came the high pitched, cheery reply.

"Enos, I need you to get over to the Duke farm. Tell them..." Rosco could barely get the words out. "Tell them, Luke's been in an accident."

"_Accident! Is it real bad, Sheriff?"_

Rosco knew Enos thought of the Dukes as good friends. "Yes, Enos. It's bad." The ambulance pulled to a stop behind Rosco's car. "Tell the Dukes to go to Tri-County Hospital. The ambulance is here. I'm gone." Rosco threw the CB onto the seat and followed the paramedics as they went down the hill. He watched as one of them climbed in to check Luke's vitals and to put on a neck brace. Rosco started feeling bad as he watch Luke get pulled out of the General on a back board and then loaded him into the ambulance. The truck driver had moved his truck and was told to head to the Sheriff's station to give a statement. Rosco would've taken it but he had to follow the ambulance and find out if Luke was going to be okay.

* * *

Bo was under the Dixie, draining the engine oil when he heard a car pull onto the farm. Bo slid himself out from under the jeep and grinned when he saw it was Enos. Bo got up and wiped his hands on a rag, "What brings you out here, Enos? I haven't been anywhere today, so you can't arrest me for anything." Bo frowned when he noticed that Enos was not his usual self. He was fiddling with his hat, his head down. "Enos, what's wrong?" Enos looked up, about to answer when Cooter's voice came over Dixie's CB.

"_This is Crazy Cooter. Lost Sheep, you gotcha ears on? Come back."_

Bo frowned at the lack of enthusiasm in Cooter's voice and greeting. Something was wrong. He could feel it. Bo picked up the CB but kept an eye on Enos. "This is Lost Sheep. Crazy Cooter, what you got for me? Come back." He wasn't sure he wanted to hear what Cooter had to say.

"_Lost Sheep, I'm at the t-section of Cottontail road and Hillside road. Rosco, called me out here to tow the General. Luke ain't here, Bo, but the General looks bad. Come back."_

Bo was watching Enos's face as Cooter spoke. "Thanks, Cooter. I have feeling that's why Enos is here. Take care of the General. I'm gone." Bo put the CB down. "Enos, where's Luke?" Bo voice was shaking now.

"I'm sorry to have to tell you this, Bo. Luke's in the hospital. I don't know what condition's he's in but the Sheriff said it's bad." Enos looked back down at his feet, "The Sheriff was with..." Enos didn't get to finish. Bo bolted into the house, calling for his uncle.

"Uncle Jesse! Uncle Jesse!" Bo called. Jesse came out of the bathroom.

"What's all the racket..." Jesse's voice died off as he saw his youngest's expression. "What happened?"

Bo shook his head and grabbed his Uncle's arm, pulling him out of the house. "I don't know. Luke's in the hospital. We have to go." Jesse didn't waste any more time. He climbed into his pick up, while Bo got in the driver's side and started it up. "Enos, can you go to the Boar's Nest and pick up Daisy?" He asked and drove off without waiting for an answer.

Jesse watched Bo's face as he drove. Bo's jaw was set in a tight clench, his fists gripping the steering wheel to the point where is knuckles went white. He could tell that Bo was trying to keep calm as he drove to the hospital. Was trying to keep all the different scenarios from plaguing his mind. Bo flinched when his uncle placed a hand on his shoulder, "He'll be fine, Uncle Jesse." Bo said before his uncle could provide any comfort. "He'll be fine. He has to be fine." Jesse nodded and pat his shoulder. There was nothing Jesse could do for his nephew right now, there was nothing he could do for either of them. They drove in silence the rest of the way.

* * *

At the hospital, Rosco was waiting in the waiting room, when Bo barged in with his uncle on his heels. Bo looked around and spotted Rosco. "Rosco!" Bo walked right up to him, "What the heck happened, where Luke?" Jesse gently pulled Bo back, knowing that during the rare times Bo got like this, he was just as intimidating as Luke.

"Sit down, Bo and give Rosco some space." Jesse ordered. Bo sat but he continued glaring at Rosco. Rosco took a step back away from him.

"Um..." Rosco started. "I was chasing Luke for speeding..." He jumped back when Bo abruptly stood up, about to protest, when Jesse pushed him back down and kept a hand on his shoulder to keep him there as well as to keep him calm. He nodded to Rosco to continue. "Luke was trying to get away but a truck got in his way." Rosco hesitated, before finishing, "He swerved to avoid it. The General rolled down the hill."

"How was he?" Jesse asked as he squeezed Bo's shoulder. He could feel the tension there.

"I'm sorry, Jesse. It was bad. He hit his head, badly. The doctor's working on him now." Rosco really did feel bad about it all. He was, after all, the one who started the chase.

"It's okay, Rosco." Jesse sighed and sat down next to Bo. "It was an accident. Weren't nobody's fault."

"Like hell it's not." Bo said with force.

"Bo!" Jesse admonished.

"Well, it's true, ain't it?" Bo got up and pointed at Rosco while looking at his uncle. "If he hadn't chased Luke, Luke wouldn't have crashed!" Bo spun on Rosco. "How fast was he driving when you tried to catch him for speeding? How much was he over by? 1, 2, 3 miles!" Bo took a step for every question he asked, forcing Rosco to stumble backwards. Rosco had never seen Bo like this. Jesse got up and gently turned Bo around.

"This isn't helping Luke, Bo." Jesse said softly. "Sit down and wait with me. I'm sure the Sheriff still has work to do." Jesse gestured for the Sheriff to leave. Rosco nodded and headed out the door. "Come, now, Bo. Sit down." Bo sat back down with Jesse putting a comforting arm around his back.

* * *

Enos dropped Daisy off at the hospital. He wanted to stay to see how Luke was doing but he was still on duty. Daisy told him that she'll let him know once they get news on Luke, before heading into the hospital. She spotted Jesse and Bo and ran over to them. "Uncle Jesse, have you got any news yet?" Jesse pulled her into the seat next to him.

"We're still waiting on word from the doctor." Jesse told her. Daisy nodded and wiped away her tears. She looked over at Bo who hadn't even acknowledged her presence. His hands were in a praying position with his head bowed and his elbows on his knees. Daisy looked back at her uncle, concerned. Jesse just shook his head and put his arm around her. She laid her head on her uncle's shoulder as they waited.

Over two hours later, a doctor called out their name. "Lukas Duke's family?" Bo stood up straight away followed by his uncle and cousin.

"I'm Jesse Duke. His uncle and legal guardian." Jesse told him.

"I'm Dr James North." He shook their hands before proceeding. "It was quite a severe injury. He's brain is swelling. We've spent the last two hours trying to bring down the swelling with a range of methods. So far, we've been fortunate and the swelling has reduced a little. We'll be keeping him in the intensive care unit to monitor the pressure in his brain. It's important that we don't let any pressure remain for too long because it can be fatal."

"Is he going to live?" Bo whispered. Dr North looked at the young man. A situation like this was traumatic for any family but the doctor had a feeling he had to be very sensitive around this man in particular.

"I'm sorry, I can't promise anything. All I can say is that we are doing everything in our power to ensure he makes a full recovery." The doctor told them and then looked at Bo. "Would you like to see him?" Bo wasn't sure how to answer that question. Yes, he wants to see his cousin, but no, he doesn't want to see him looking frail and dying.

"Go ahead, Bo. We'll wait here." Jesse gently pushed him to follow the doctor.

"This way, Sir." Dr North opened the door for him. Bo nodded and followed in silence. The doctor led him to a room with three other patients. They all looked bad but none of them prepared him for what he was about to see. "The nurse will come in to tell you when your time's up. You only have 10 minutes." Bo nodded, so the doctor left him alone.

Bo moved in closer to his cousin, who was so pale, his skin was almost the same shade as a piece of paper. There was a mask over his mouth and nose. An IV running into his left wrist. He head was bandaged. Bo put a hand over Luke's. "You're going to be okay, Luke. You have to be." Bo wiped at his eyes. "You don't have to worry about the General Lee. Cooter will take good care of him. You concentrate on getting better." Bo's grip on Luke was getting tighter. It was as if, the tighter he gripped, the longer Luke would stay with him. If it was possible, he would hold on forever. "You always tell me that you'd never let anything happen to me. Well, I'm telling you now, I'm never letting anything happen to you. I'm never letting you go anywhere without me. Not if I can help it. It's my turn to protect you, cousin."

"I'm sorry, Sir. Your time's up." A nurse said from behind him. Bo gave Luke's hand one last squeeze before following the nurse back out to his family. "Visiting hours are from 8am to 12noon and then from 4pm until 8pm. You can come back then, but it can only be short visits. At least until he gets moved out of ICU." The nurse told them. Jesse thanked her as he lead Bo away by the arm. "How was he?" Jesse asked as they made their way to the pick-up.

"I barely recognised him." Bo whispered.

Jesse nodded. "I'll drive. We'll come back in the morning." Bo let Daisy in first and then climbed in after her.

"Can you drop me off at Cooter's? I wanna see the General. I'll catch a ride home with Cooter." Bo asked.

Jesse hesitated and looked at Daisy. Daisy looked concerned as well. "Bo, maybe that ain't such a good idea." Daisy said, knowing that was what her uncle was thinking.

"Daisy's right, Bo."

"I'll be fine. I just want to see him. Luke would want me to take care of the General." Bo explained.

"Cooter..."

"Please!" Bo cried, then more softly, "please."

Jesse knew there was no point arguing with Bo. "Okay, Bo. I'll drop you off." Bo turned his head away from them, not wanting them to see his tears. Daisy wrapped her arms around Bo's waist and leaned into him. She wasn't sure if she was trying to give comfort or seek it. She figured it was both.


	2. Too calm

**Author's note: Firstly, thanks to Hazzard66 for helping me get my muse back. I was running out of ideas and thanks to her numerous ideas, I finally came up with this story. Secondly, I was asked to give Bo a break and torture Luke instead. I tried, but this is the best I could come up with. Still the story focuses more on Bo, I can't help it. Hope y'all like it!**

**Warning: Not beta-ed and hence I apologise for the grammatical errors.**

**Disclaimer: Again, I don't own the Dukes or any characters in the Dukes of Hazzard.**

Cooter had been avoiding looking at the General since he towed it back. He saw the damage when he picked it up and it was bad, really bad. Cooter covered it up while he worked on the other cars he had in his garage, but now that he was done, he had no choice but to turn his attention onto the General. He pulled the tarp off the front half of the General. Most of the damage was done to the driver's side but it wasn't limited to there. The rest of the General had taken quite a beating as well. Cooter opened up the hood to see the damage to the engine. Amazingly, the shell of the General did a good job of protecting it. There was minimal damage, considering the severity of the crash. Cooter reached in to pull out the damaged parts when a car pulled up to his garage. He closed the hood when Bo jumped out of the pick-up. He quickly covered the General back up before going out to meet Bo. "I'll be back by dinner." He heard Bo tell Jesse and Daisy before they left. "Hey, Cooter."

"Hey, Buddy-roe." Cooter said, "How's Luke?"

Bo smiled at Cooter's concern. Cooter's their best friend and Bo knew this was hard on him as well. "Doctor says his brain was swelling up but they managed to bring it down a little. He's in ICU until he's stable enough to be put in another room." Bo turned away from Cooter and started towards the car inside. "They don't know if he'll survive." Bo finished before moving to pull the tarp off the General. Cooter put a hand on his arm to stop him. Bo looked at Cooter's hand and then raised an eyebrow at his friend.

"You don't want to see him, Bo." Cooter told him.

Bo gave a short laugh but there was no mirth. He took his hand back and folded it in front of him. "Why is everyone saying that?"

"Because you've been through enough for today and you don't need to see the General in this condition." Cooter explained.

"Cooter, I just saw Luke." Bo tried to keep his tears at bay, "Nothing can compare to that. So I'm going to take a look at the General now, okay?" Bo didn't wait for answer, he just grabbed the tarp and threw it off. He was right, it didn't compare to seeing Luke, but that didn't mean he still wasn't shocked at the damage. "Can you fix him?"

"I know it looks bad, Bo. But that engine we built is still intact. The rest of the damage can be fixed. It'll take some time, but I'll have the General back to ship shape." Cooter said confidently.

"Thanks, Cooter." Bo ran his hand over the hood and then over the roof until he reached the back. He didn't know how Luke managed to survive this. For once he was glad they had welded the doors shut instead of cursing it. Bo believed that it was what saved Luke's life. Bo and Cooter turned towards a commotion coming from outside. They both walked out to see Rosco giving someone a ticket for parking in front of a fire hydrant

"Looks like Rosco's at it again." Cooter shook his head. He was surprised when Bo started towards the Sheriff. "Bo?" Cooter knew this was going to be bad. He chased after Bo hoping to stop whatever was about to happen. "Bo, wait up!"

Bo wasn't listening. He was only seeing red. He couldn't believe that Rosco was already back to his normal schemes after what he did to Luke. Rosco was handing the ticket to the poor victim when Bo came up and snatched it from him. Rosco step back in shock as Bo tore the ticket up and kicked over the fake fire hydrant "You should go." He told the lady who was getting booked. She wasted no time in getting into her car and driving away. "So you couldn't get Luke with a phoney ticket so you're trying on someone else?"

"ooh...now, you listen here, Bo Duke. I know you're going through a tough time so I'm letting you off this time, but you...you do it again and I'll cuff ya and stuff ya." Rosco threatened with no real force behind it.

"You really are something!" Bo was about to grab Rosco by the shirt when Cooter grabbed him from behind.

"Come on, Bo." He grunted as Bo struggled, "The last thing your uncle and cousin needs right now is to bail you out of jail."

"Jail is where he should be! Luke could die and he's here handing out phoney tickets!" Bo stopped struggling when Boss Hogg came running out of the court house. Cooter kept a hand on Bo's arm, just in case.

"Bo Duke, what do you think you're doing?" Boss Hogg yelled as Rosco moved behind him. "Attacking an officer of the law is a federal offence. Rosco, arrest him!"

"oooh...you see, Boss. Luke's in hospital right now, so I think we should let Bo off, just this once." Rosco said from behind him.

"What!" He yelled in surprise causing Rosco to jump. "Let a Duke off? I haven't heard a more absurd notion in my life. Now, you going to cuff him or should I?"

Bo's jaw clenched as he stared daggers at Boss. "You don't even feel bad about it, do you, Boss?"

Boss shrugged, "I don't like to see you boys hurt, just behind bars, but why should I feel bad? I weren't the one who ran him off the road."

Bo lost it then. He pulled his arm harshly from Cooter's hold and grabbed Boss by the front of his white jacket. "You're glad Luke might die, ain't ya?" Boss was so scared he couldn't say a thing so he just shook his head vigorously. Cooter and Rosco were both trying to get Bo off of Boss but it was like he was possessed by a titan. "You might not be the one to run Luke off the road, but if you didn't order Rosco to put up that speed trap, if you didn't order Rosco to arrest us no matter what, Luke wouldn't have been trying to get away from Rosco this morning and he wouldn't have crashed. He wouldn't be in hospital! That's why you should be feeling bad, but then, you don't have a conscience, do you, Boss? You don't care if Luke dies. Heck, now there's one less Duke to deal with. Well, guess what? If Luke dies, you and your sorry excuse for a Sheriff better pack up and leave town, because I'm going to make your lives hell." Bo shoved, the now shivering, Boss Hogg away from him. Rosco caught him before he fell to the ground. Bo held out his wrists at him. "Now, you have a real reason to lock me up. Go ahead."

"Bo..." Cooter put a hand on Bo's arm to push it down. He really didn't want to be the one to tell Jesse that Bo got himself arrested, but Bo just shoved his hand off.

"Well? Go ahead. For once in your career, you get to arrest me for something I actually did." Bo said.

Rosco and Boss Hogg looked at each other, not sure what they should do. Boss was feeling a little guilty now, but there was no way he would admit to that. He had never met this side of Bo Duke before. He's seen Bo angry but not violent. Rosco looked down at Bo's hands. "No." He said and then looked at Boss again, who nodded reluctantly. "I'll let you off for compassionate reasons. Now, scoot, before I change my mind."

Bo slowly lowered his hands while Cooter let out a long breath. He grabbed Bo and took Rosco's advice. He was not about to wait around for them to change their minds. When they got back to the garage Cooter shoved Bo inside and closed up. "What the hell were you thinking, Bo?" He demanded. "I know you're angry, but your family needs you! Luke needs you! You ain't gonna do anyone any good by getting yourself arrested."

Bo fell to the floor and leaned against the General. All his anger left him, leaving him weak and tired. He didn't know what he was doing. He didn't know what he was thinking. He just wanted justice for Luke and seeing Rosco giving a phoney ticket just told him that he would never get it. Not in Hazzard. Heck, that's why Luke and Bo were fighting the system, because the only justice in this county was Hogg's justice and that weren't no justice at all. "He could die, Cooter and there's nothing I can do about it." Bo could feel himself losing control. In one last effort he pushed the heels of his hands against his eyes to stop the tears from coming. Cooter knelt down and put a hand on Bo's shoulder. He couldn't imagine what Bo was going through but he was going to help him anyway he could.

"Bo, just let it out. You can't keep it all bottled inside you. Heck, it's not you to keep anything inside you. That's Luke, not you. You're going to drive yourself crazy." Cooter begged.

Bo wanted so much to do what Cooter was saying but something he said turned a light on for Bo. It's true, Luke was always the one to keep his emotions in check and he was stronger for it. He was able to look after them because he kept his head clear. Now, Luke wasn't here for the family so it was up to Bo to step up and be more like Luke. It was Bo's turn to take care of the family. Bo wiped at his eyes and took a deep breath. "Thanks, Cooter." He said as he got up. Cooter frowned. He didn't know what Bo was thanking him for. Bo turned to the General. "So where should we start?"

Cooter shook his head, "Bo, leave the General to me. You just take care of yourself."

"Nah," Bo said, "I can work on the General as well as take care of the farm and Luke. Trust me. There's enough hours in the day."

Cooter's eyes followed Bo as he walked around the General. Bo seemed to have pulled himself together, but Cooter wasn't sure if all the parts were in the right place. "You'd be exhausted."

"I'll be fine. Come on, Cooter. Let's start." Bo said.

"Okay, you can work on him with me, but not today. I'm closing up for the day. Let's get you home and you can come over tomorrow to help me. Okay?" Bo knew he didn't have a choice so he agreed.

* * *

Cooter dropped him off at home with the promise that they'll start work on the General Lee tomorrow. Bo entered the house and saw that Daisy was setting the table for dinner. "Hey, Daisy." Bo greeted, but Daisy didn't turn around. She just said hi back. Bo took her by the shoulders and turned her around. "It's going to be okay, Daisy." He drew her in and let her cry. Bo could feel her sobs and he wished he could take away all the pain but all he could do was hold her until she could stop. Jesse walked in then. He was touched by the scene but pained at the same time. This was going to be a hard time for their family, but he knew they'll get through it because of what he was seeing in front of him right now. Daisy's sobs died down. Bo let her go so that she could get herself together. He only just noticed that Uncle Jesse was standing in the archway between the living room and the kitchen. He smiled and nodded at Bo to let him know that he did good. Bo gave small smile and helped Daisy finish setting the table.

Dinner was quiet. There was nothing they wanted to talk about that didn't revolve around Luke. Bo looked at his uncle and cousin. He cleared his throat. "Um...Uncle Jesse? Is it okay if I help Cooter work on the General?"

Jess looked up at him. "Is that what you want?"

"It's what Luke would want." Bo paused, "It's what Luke would do."

Daisy frowned, she didn't like the sound of that. "You don't have to do that, Bo. It would've been hard to even look at the damage to that car, but to work on it as well? I don't think it's good for you."

Bo smiled at her concern. "I'll be okay. I saw the wreck today. It was bad but nothing that can't be fixed." Jesse studied his nephew. This wasn't like Bo. He was too calm, too logical, almost like...Luke. Jesse wanted to talk to Bo about it, but if this was how he was dealing with the current situation, then he would probably just say that he was fine and that his uncle was worrying too much.

"As long as you don't over do it. Without Luke, you'll have extra work to do here and then you need to fit in the hospital visits."

Bo nodded, "I won't be racing the General around so that time can be spent on working on the General and visits to the hospital, plus an early start in the day. I'll have plenty of time."

Jesse nodded, "Okay, but if I see that you're pushing yourself too hard, you stop working on the General. Deal?"

"Deal." They finished the rest of their dinner in silence.


	3. Awake, finally

**Author's note: Firstly, thanks to Hazzard66 for helping me get my muse back. I was running out of ideas and thanks to her numerous ideas, I finally came up with this story. Secondly, I was asked to give Bo a break and torture Luke instead. I tried, but this is the best I could come up with. Still the story focuses more on Bo, I can't help it. Hope y'all like it!**

**Warning: Not beta-ed and hence I apologise for the grammatical errors.**

**Disclaimer: Again, I don't own the Dukes or any characters in the Dukes of Hazzard.**

Bed time was the time Bo was dreading all day. For the whole day, Bo had a way of distracting himself from thinking about Luke but now, the night was so quiet, there was no way to not think of him. Images started flicking through his mind. Images of the look of Enos's face when he came to the farm today. Images of Luke at the hospital. Images of Rosco and Boss Hogg, of the wreck that was the General Lee and of Daisy sobbing uncontrollably. Bo tried to bury his head under his pillow but it didn't stop the slideshow. He sat up and threw the pillow across the room. It landed on Luke's bed. Bo picked up the pillow and laid down on Luke's bed. He needed to feel that Luke was still with him. He did this a lot during the time Luke was in the marines, but he knew it would only work for some nights. On the really bad nights, Bo would result to doing chores in the middle of the night until he got so tired he would fall into an exhausted sleep. Tonight was one of the those nights where it worked. Bo fell asleep within minutes of lying down on the bed.

Bo woke up about an hour before the sun did. He wanted to get his chores done early so that he could visit Luke and then work on the General with Cooter. Without Luke, chores should've taken twice as long, but then, without Luke, there was no chatter to distract him from his chores. The morning rituals went by as normally as it could without Luke and before they knew it, they were at the hospital again. They were in Dr North's office, about to receive an update on Luke's condition. "I have good news. It turns out the brain injury is not as severe as we first thought it to be. It's what we consider a moderate traumatic brain injury, TBI for short."

"What does that mean?" Bo asked.

"It means that if or when Luke wakes up, the chances that there will be any long term effect is significantly less than if it's to be a severe TBI." The doctor explained.

"What do you mean 'if'?" Bo asked. "Luke will wake up, right?"

"I wish I could tell you that he would, but it's hard to say with head injuries. We can only wait and see what happens, but I remain optimistic." Dr North said. "He's swelling had gone down immensely over night, but we would like him to remain in ICU until the swelling is completely gone. Hopefully, by tomorrow that will be the case. You can visit him about 10 minutes each time today, but only during visiting hours and only one at a time."

"We understand, Doc." Jesse shook the doctor's hand before they left to visit Luke. "Do you want to go in first, Bo?"

Bo shook his head, "You go. You haven't seen him yet." Jesse nodded and went through the door with a nurse, while Bo hugged Daisy close. "You heard the Doc. He's going to get better."

Jesse stood beside Luke's bed. He gave him a kiss on his curls before taking hold of his Luke's hand. "You're going to be okay, son. I knew you wouldn't leave us, you're too strong-willed to let a head injury take you and you sure as heck, ain't going leave us because you were trying to get away from Rosco." Jesse paused before continuing. "Luke, son, you need to wake up because your cousin needs you. Bo may act like he's handling things, but we all know him too well. He's not handling the situation the way Bo would, he's handling it the way you would, by keeping it all in and we both know that that's not the way Bo works. You need to wake up, Luke, because I don't think I can help Bo the way you can." Jesse put Luke's hand down and gently patted it. "I have to go now. I love you, Luke."

Jesse came out and Daisy went in. She kissed Luke on the same place Jesse did. "Hello, Sugar. We miss you back at the farm. We're all trying to be strong, especially Bo. You should've seen him last night. I was a wreck and he just swooped right in and held me. He just held me without saying a word. We need you, Luke, so you need to wake up, because I'm pretty sure, Bo's going to work himself to the bone if you don't. I love you, Luke." Daisy remained there until her time was up and then left, so that Bo could have his turn.

"You take your time, Luke." Bo said as he came up to the bed. "You take your time and get better, just don't take too long, because I need you. I'm gonna help Cooter fix up the General. I have to say, that was quite a wreck you got yourself into, but don't worry. Cooter said it's nothing that can't be fixed. The main thing is the engine we built is still intact." Bo didn't even know tears were running down his cheeks. He wiped them away angrily and then took a deep breath. "Don't worry, Luke. I'll take care of Uncle Jesse and Daisy. I promise. I love you." He left the room then because he could feel himself losing control of his emotions. Bo needed to stay strong for his family and letting them see him cry won't help. He pulled himself together before opening the door to the waiting room. "Let's go."

Jesse nodded, he still wasn't happy about the man Bo was trying to be, but he'll let it go. "I'll drop you off at Cooter's and then I'll pick you up again at four for another visit." Bo nodded and got into the pick-up after Daisy.

* * *

"Hey, Buddy-roe. How's Lukas?" Cooter asked as he waved to Daisy and Jesse.

"He's doing better. Doc said they might move him to a regular room tomorrow. Won't be no restrictions to our visiting hours." Bo smiled as he walked toward the General. "So where do we start?"

"Well, how about we start banging out those dents. See if we can't straighten the poor General out." Cooter suggested, handing Bo the tools he needed.

Hours later, Jesse came back out to pick Bo up. Daisy was at work, so she couldn't come along. At the hospital, Jesse went in first and then Bo. Jesse would tell Luke about the family and the farm while Bo would give Luke updates on the General Lee. This was the ritual for the rest of the week, the only change was that Bo would drive to the hospital himself because Luke had been deemed well enough to be moved to a regular room, which meant Bo could stay as long as he wanted, and he did. The hospital was his home for the week. If Bo wasn't doing his chores or working on the General, he would be at the hospital. Jesse had given up on trying to convince Bo to come home for sleep.

Exactly one week after the accident, Bo was standing next to Luke's bed. You could tell from the tension in his body that he was angry. "So you planning on sleeping forever, Luke? I'm here every day and each day I pray that this is the day that you will wake up, but it never happens. The doctor said you're recovering nicely so why won't you wake up?" Bo ran his hand through his hair. "I'm trying so hard to be strong for Jesse and Daisy. I really am, Luke, but there's only so much I can do. This family needs you. Please, Luke." Bo sniffed and wiped away the tears, picking up Luke's hand. "I need you!" Bo looked at the hand he was holding. Praying that Luke would give him a sign, but nothing happened. Bo turned around in anger. "Fine, you want to sleep. You go right ahead. Don't worry about me. I'll just go over to Cooter's tomorrow and tow the General to the junk yard, then I'll use those nifty machines they have there and turn it into a nice compact cube that could fit through this door!" Bo's voice was getting louder and louder. "The General Lee is just another car to me if you're not around to drive him with me." A nurse poked her head in.

"Is there a problem here, Sir?" She asked. Bo looked at her and quickly wiped at his face. He walked back over to his cousin and picked up his hand.

"No, ma'am. Nothing's wro..." Bo froze in mid-sentence.

"Sir?"

"Ma'am, tell me I'm not dreaming." Bo turned to her and then looked down at the hand in his. The nurse's eyes widened when she saw Luke's fingers move.

"You're not dreaming, Sir. I'll call the doctor!" She disappeared and came back a minute later with Dr North.

"Doc!" Bo started, but the doctor stopped him and started examining his patient. Bo waited impatiently. It felt as if the doctor was taking hours but he knew it was only minutes. He knew he should go outside and call Jesse but he wanted to wait until the doctor was done. Finally, Dr North stood up and smiled at Bo.

"Your cousin is waking up. Give him another couple of hours and he'll be up." Bo let out a breath in relief. He shook the doctors hand vigorously.

"Thank you, thank you so much." Bo suddenly felt very light headed. He doctor grabbed him by the arm and sat him down on the couch, Bo had been using as a bed.

"Nurse, get me a sphygmomanometer." The nurse left the room to get the equipment the doctor had asked for. "I need you to take deep breaths for me." Using his stethoscope, Dr North listened to Bo's breathing. The nurse came back in and start measure Bo blood pressure. Dr North read the results. "Your blood pressure is a little low, which explains why you're feeling dizzy. I'm guessing you've been exhausting yourself over your cousin here."

Bo looked guilty, "Maybe just a little." The nurse smiled as the doctor shook his head.

"I'm going to make you a deal. I'll let you stay here until your cousin wakes up and we determine that he will make a full recover. After that, you are going home and you are going to get a good night's rest in your own bed. For now, Melissa here, is going to go get you a couple sandwiches and some juice and you are going to finish everything." The doctor emphasised 'everything'.

Bo sighed. "Do I have to go home?"

"Yes!" Bo could tell the doctor wasn't going to budge. "Otherwise I call your uncle to pick you up now."

"Fine." Bo agreed. Melissa giggled at Bo's pout.

"Melissa? Could you go get that sandwich and juice for Bo?"

"Yes, Doctor."

"I'll call your uncle for you." the doctor said as they left the room. Bo got up again, slowly, so that he didn't fall over. He sat down on the edge of the bed and picked up Luke's hand.

"If I knew threatening to trash the General would wake you up I would've done it earlier." Bo joked. "You know how I had to make up for all the chores you did for me? Well, guess what? You're going to have a lot of weeks to make up for. It's already been one week since the accident and I'm pretty sure, you'll have to stay here for another week or so before you can go home and then you won't be able to do chores for about two week or more, so I'm going to enjoy the time you have to make up for all those weeks." Bo smiled and looked down. "You're doing well, Luke and I'm going to be right here when you wake up."

* * *

Bo was finishing his sandwiches and juice when his uncle walked in. Bo swallowed the last bite and grinned. "He's waking up, Uncle Jesse." Jesse nodded and walked over to Bo. Bo got up and hugged his uncle. "I was so scared." Bo whispered.

"I know." Jesse said, this was the first time he saw a glimpse of the old Bo, but that was all he got. He was hoping Bo would've relaxed enough to let his guard down, but that wasn't going to happen. Not today. "But you did good. You did real good." Jesse kissed him on the cheek before going over to his eldest.

"Doc said he probably won't wake up completely for another two hours or so." Bo reported from the opposite side of the bed.

"I know. Doc told me. He also told me you'd be coming home with me tonight." Jesse smiled at his nephews down face. "You know it's for your own good."

"Yeah, well, it was either that or get kicked out now." Bo complained.

"I miss you, Bo. Daisy does too. I know you've been trying to be at three places at once and we do get to see you every day, but that's not all I'm talking about." Bo frowned, he didn't know what his uncle was trying to say. "What I mean is that we miss you. The old you that always smiles or talks about everything or cries whenever he needs to, no matter who's watching. We miss that Bo."

"Uncle Jesse, I'm still me. I just figured I needed to grow up a little. I mean, Luke's going to need a lot of time to recover, so y'all will be depending on me more now. I can't just do whatever I want, like I did before. You don't need to be worryin' about me as well as Luke." Bo didn't think he changed that much.

"I know that, Bo and we love you for it." Jesse didn't continue. He knew if he did, Bo would start getting defensive. He just hoped that when Luke recovered the old Bo would be back. "So how's the General coming along?"

Bo grinned, "We've got most of the bumps fixed up. The driver's side is still a mess but we'll probably have that banged out by the end of this week. After that we can start work on the engine and the steering. We should be done in about a couple of weeks. It'll be a perfect welcome home present for Luke."

Jesse smiled, but he wasn't smiling because the General was going to be fixed, but because his nephew was grinning, a grin he hadn't seen for a week now. "You should rest. I'll wake you when Luke comes around." Bo looked exhausted, it's no wonder he almost collapsed today. "Go lie down, Bo." Bo nodded and went to lie down on the couch. Jesse knew he was gone as soon as his head hit the pillow.

* * *

Over an hour later, Luke was trying to open his eyes. He didn't understand why they felt so heavy. "Take your time, Luke." That sounded like Jesse.

"Hey, Cuz." Bo. Someone's holding his hand. Luke concentrated on closing his own hand around it. He knew he did it because he heard Bo again. "That's it, cuz. Just take you time. I'm right here and so's Uncle Jesse. Daisy would've been here too but she's at the Boar's Nest."

Finally, Luke managed to pry open his heavy eyelids. He could see two people hovering over him, but it was all blurry. He guessed it was Bo and Jesse. Luke blinked a couple more times until the view started clearing. "Hey, Luke!" Bo grinned. "About time you woke up."

Luke opened his mouth to say something but it was so dry he couldn't get any words out. "Here." A straw appeared in front of him and he took a much needed sip.

Luke looked around. "Un...Jesse."

"He just went to get the doctor." Bo told him as the door opened and the doctor walked in followed by Jesse. Bo stood aside for the doctor. He watched as the Dr North shone a light in Luke's eyes and then started asking him some questions.

"Can you tell me your name?" The doctor asked.

"Luke Duke." Luke answered so softly, Bo could barely hear it. Luke frowned and brought his hand up to his throat.

"Don't worry about your voice. You haven't used it in a while, so it just needs getting use to. Now, do you remember what happened to you?"

Luke closed his eyes and thought about that. "Um...I remember Rosco."

"Rosco?" The doctor turned to Bo.

"Rosco is the Sheriff in Hazzard County." Bo explained.

"Ah okay. What else do you remember?"

"Ah...a truck." Luke looked at the doctor, "Did I crash the General?"

Again the doctor was confused and Bo explained that the General was the car Luke was driving when he had the accident. The doctor nodded and wrote something down on his chart. "Okay, can you move your right hand for me?" Luke wriggled the fingers on his right hand. "Left?" He did the same. Dr North moved to the end of the bed and pulled up the covers to reveal Luke's feet. "Can you wriggle your toes?" Luke concentrated, it was a little harder than his fingers but he managed it. The whole room sighed in relief when his toes moved. Dr North pulled the covers back over Luke's feet. "I am extremely pleased with his progress. He's recovering at a rapid rate. I would say he'll be making a good recovery without any long term effects. If you keep this up, you should be out of here by the end of this week, but," The doctor said before the family got too happy, "A brain injury is very serious. It'll still be at least a month before you can start going about your normal life and that's only after you get a clear bill of health from me."

"Don't worry, Doc." Bo said, "We'll take good care of him."

"I don't doubt that. Just remember to take care of yourselves as well. Won't do him much good if you're pass out." Bo scratched the back of his head, looking a little embarrassed. "And don't forget our deal."

"Aw...Doc, I remember." Bo whined making the doctor chuckle.

"I'll be back to check on Luke later on today." Dr North left the family to celebrate. "Don't let him over do it."

Jesse sat down in the chair while Bo stood on the other side. "How long have I been here?" Luke asked. His voice was already sounding better.

"A week." Jesse told him.

Luke's eyes widened, "A week! Was it that bad?"

"Yeah, Luke, it was." Bo answered, "But you're awake now and everything's going to be back to normal."

Luke closed his eyes. He couldn't believe he's been unconscious for a week. "Sorry to scare you like that."

"Don't worry about us, Luke. We're fine." Jesse patted his hand. Luke smiled and then frowned and turned to Bo.

"Did you say something about trashing the General?" Jesse looked at Bo in shock. Bo looked a little sheepish.

"Only because you wouldn't wake up, so I thought I'd scare you awake." Bo explained.

"Bo!" Jesse admonished.

"It worked, didn't it?" Bo reasoned. Jesse shook his head.

"How is the General? I must've busted it him up good." Luke wasn't sure if he wanted to hear about the damage to his and Bo's precious car.

"He ain't too bad. Cooter and me got a lot of the dents and bumps sorted out. Cooter said there was very little damage to the engine, so he's still the same General we own and love." Bo was happy to report.

"So Cooter can fix him?"

"Yup."

Luke was relieved, he would hate to lose the General. "That's good." Luke closed his eyes.

"Rest, Luke." Jesse told him. "I'm ordered to take Bo home, but we'll be back with Daisy tonight. Okay?" Luke nodded and was asleep before they even left the room. Jesse dragged Bo out of the room.

"Aw...Uncle Jesse." Bo complained once he was outside. "If it was me in there, you would've let Luke stay."

"Maybe so, but if the Doc ordered Luke home, I would be giving him the same treatment." Jesse returned.

That night, Bo had the most restful sleep in a week. He didn't feel the need to go outside to do chores or even sleep in Luke's bed. Bo was tired enough to sleep through the whole night without any nightmares or dreams. He thought life would start going back to normal. He thought with Luke recovering he could stop feeling on edge, but he realised he was wrong two weeks after Luke's discharge.


	4. Leaving

**Author's note: Firstly, thanks to Hazzard66 for helping me get my muse back. I was running out of ideas and thanks to her numerous ideas, I finally came up with this story. Secondly, I was asked to give Bo a break and torture Luke instead. I tried, but this is the best I could come up with. Still the story focuses more on Bo, I can't help it. Hope y'all like it!**

**Warning: Not beta-ed and hence I apologise for the grammatical errors.**

**Disclaimer: Again, I don't own the Dukes or any characters in the Dukes of Hazzard.**

Bo had been taking good care of Luke, as per the doctor's orders. He refused to let Luke do anything other than sit in the lounge room or on the porche. Of course, Luke wasn't happy about it because he was the most independent of the all the Dukes and having being told by his baby cousin that he wasn't allowed to do this or do that, did not sit well with Luke.

"Bo, the doctor said not to do anything strenuous! Collecting eggs is not strenuous!" Luke told him from the porch swing as Bo chopped the wood. Bo stood up and looked over at Luke. He thought about it, getting eggs can't be that hard for Luke, he guessed. Bo looked over at Jesse, who nodded his head. Jesse knew how much his eldest hated being restricted. It was the same with Bo except that for Luke it was because he was used to looking after the family not being looked after. For Bo, it was because he was naturally energetic and needed to be doing something.

"Fine, go collect the eggs." Bo said, reluctantly, "but be careful."

Luke rolled his eyes. "Bo, I've only been doing this since I was four." He grabbed the basket from Bo and went into the chicken coop. Bo kept his eye on the chicken coop while chopping the wood. He didn't like it when Luke was out of sight, even if he was only a few steps away. "Dang it!" Bo heard the curse and saw the feathers flying out of the coop. He dropped his axe and ducked inside to find Luke trying to fight off the chickens. Bo grabbed him be the arm and pulled him out.

"What the heck happened?" Bo scalded, as he sat Luke on the steps of the porch to check him over.

"I'm fine, Bo. Just got a little dizzy getting up after collecting the eggs at the bottom. I spooked the chickens when I grabbed onto one of them to stop falling over." Luke explained.

"Not strenuous my..."

"Bo Duke, you watch your mouth or I'll wash it out with soap." Jesse yelled as he came up to them.

"Yes, Sir." Bo forgot his uncle was within hearing distance. Luke had an amused look on his face.

"What are you laughing at?" Bo complained. "And that's it! You ain't doing any more work until the doctor says you can. Are you still feeling dizzy?" Bo asked as he tried to calm down his racing heart.

Luke was thinking about lying but figured Jesse or Bo would likely find out. "A little." Bo glared at him. "Oh come on! How was I to know I would start feeling dizzy?"

"You should've known, because you've been getting dizzy spells. Heck, I should've known!" Bo was angry, it shouldn't have happened.

"It wasn't something that could've been predicted." Jesse said. He turned Bo so that he could look at him. "Got that?"

"Yeah, whatever." Bo went back into the chicken coop to finish collecting the eggs. Luke was watching him.

"He's changed a lot." Luke noticed.

"He has. Ever since that day. It's like living with a completely different person." Jesse worried.

"Don't worry, Uncle Jesse. Once I'm back on my feet, he'll be back to his old, obnoxious self." Luke tried to comfort his uncle but it was more like wishful thinking. Something about Luke's accident had spooked Bo, and Luke needed to find out what.

* * *

Three weeks later...

"Bo! Dr North has given me a clear bill of health for a week now! I'm driving out to the Boar's Nest and you can't stop me." Luke was determined to get behind the wheel of the General.

"No, you ain't!" Bo blocked Luke's path. "You were in a coma for a week!"

"I know!" Luke was fed up with Bo's hovering, "And I haven't had a dizzy spell for over two weeks. Heck, if the doctor can trust me behind the wheel, why can't you?"

"Why can't you let me drive you there?" Bo asked exasperated.

"Because!" Luke couldn't believe how hard it was to get through to Bo. "I miss driving the General and how long is it going to be until you let me behind that wheel?"

Bo closed his eyes. "Fine, but I'm coming with you."

"No way! Bo, I need some space." Luke didn't know any other way of telling Bo this. "I need to get away from you, even if it is just for an hour." Bo looked as if he had been punched in the gut. He pushed himself off the General.

"Fine, go do whatever you want." Bo said defeatedly. He walked passed Luke and picked up the wood he needed to fix the barn. Luke sighed as Bo started sawing a piece of wood. He didn't mean it the way it had come out. Luke wanted to apologise but he didn't want to end up arguing with Bo again. There had been way to many arguments between them in the past few weeks. Luke climbed into the General.

"I'll be back in an hour." Luke called out to him, but he wasn't even sure Bo heard him. He pulled out and drove away.

It felt good to be driving the General again. He hadn't felt this free in nearly two months. Luke took the scenic route to the Boar's Nest and when that old cement building came into view, he grinned. He could see that Cooter had already arrived. Luke climbed out of the General and gave it a pat. "I missed you, General." He said before entering the Boar's Nest.

Luke spotted Cooter at their usual seat. "Daisy! One beer over here!" He yelled over the noise as he took a seat next to Cooter.

"Comin' right up, Luke!" Daisy called back.

"Hello, Lukas Dukas. How've you been?" Cooter slapped him on the shoulder.

"Good! As good as I've been in weeks!" Luke answered.

"How's the General?" Cooter grinned, already knowing the answer.

"Oh Cooter! Whatever you did with him, it's great!" Luke crowed.

Cooter nodded, "Yep, but it weren't only me. Bo did most of the work." Luke frowned, "Yep, I gave him the keys to the garage and I swear he snuck in there and worked on it in the middle of the night. He would never admit but I might be crazy, but I ain't dumb."

"At night? Really? It's a miracle he hasn't collapsed on us." Luke didn't like what he was hearing. "Hey, Cooter? You've noticed a change in Bo, haven't you?"

Cooter lost his usually flare, "Yeah, I have. Ever since the day of your accident. It's as if someone flipped the light switch."

"That bad, huh?" Luke frowned, "Thanks." He gave Daisy a smiled when she brought around the beer.

"It's good to finally see you out of the house, Luke. I was starting to think Bo would keep you there forever." Daisy joked. Luke laughed, even though Daisy wasn't far from the truth.

"Look," Cooter waited until Daisy left before telling Luke what he was about to. "I never told anyone this because nothing became of it, but you should know. Bo saw the Sheriff on the day of your accident when he was trying to stick someone with a phoney ticket." Cooter shivered as he thought about that day, "It was like Bo was on fire. He walked up to him and kicked that fire hydrant and then ripped up that ticket like a mad man. But that wasn't the worst of it. Boss Hogg came out and he grabbed onto him, I really thought Bo would hurt him."

Luke couldn't believe what he was hearing. "Bo would never hurt anyone deliberately, not even Boss Hogg."

"I know, that's why I'm worried about him. He was a mess, Luke. When I got him back to the garage, it was like he was trying his hardest not the break down and then someone flipped the switch and he got up and wanted to start work on the General as if nothing happened." Luke could tell Cooter was really worried and he had good reasons to be.

"He's been strange around the house since I got home from the hospital. I've never argued with Bo so much in our entire life than we have during these past weeks." Luke said. "Heck, I almost had to physically moved Bo out of the way to get into the General."

"What are you going to do about it?" Cooter asked.

Luke shook his head, "I don't know. I don't even know how to talk to Bo now. He's a different person."

"You have to try, Luke. He can't go on like this. You know Bo better than anyone and that is not Bo." Cooter begged.

Luke nodded. "I'll talk to him. For now, I'm going to enjoy my freedom." They knocked their glasses and started talking about everything Cooter did to the General.

Bo was working like a possessed man at the farm since Luke had left and that was over an hour ago. He tried to keep himself busy to stop all the nightmares he's been having come to his mind. Nightmares of Luke dying, of the General crushed beyond recognition. Bo had fixed the barn, as well as the roof of the house. He drove out to the back forty to mend the fence, but now he's run out of things to do and Luke still wasn't home. Bo sat down on the steps and buried his head in his hands.

Jesse had been watching Bo from the kitchen. He knew Bo was losing his mind over Luke being out there by himself. In a way, he was worried too, but he knew he was over-reacting. Bo, on the other hand, didn't seem understand that the chances of Luke getting into another accident was highly unlikely. Jesse finished up in the kitchen before picking up the phone and calling the Boar's Nest. "Hey, Daisy. Is Luke still there?"

"_Oh no, he left about ten minutes ago, Uncle Jesse."_

"Okay, thanks, darling." Jesse put the phone back down, relieved that Luke would be home soon. He went outside and sat down next to his boy. "Luke's on his way home, Bo." Bo just nodded. "Luke can look after himself now, Bo. You did good looking after everyone, but you can let go now. Luke's fine."

"I know, but I can't stop it." Bo whispered with his head still buried.

"Can't stop what son." Jesse asked as he put his arm around his boy.

Bo suddenly realised what he had said and lifted his head. "Nothing. It's nothing you need to worry about, Uncle Jesse."

"I know what I need to worry about and you're it." Jesse told him.

Bo gave a small smile, "Thanks, Uncle Jesse." He felt as if he was calming down but when Luke pulled up he seem to lose it again. He got up and stomped over to his cousin who was climbing out of the General.

"Where the heck have you been?" Bo yelled. Jesse came up to them and put a gentle hand on Bo's shoulder.

"Calm down, Bo. Let Luke explain." Jesse said and then looked at Luke, silently telling Luke to humor his cousin.

"I was at the Boar's Nest like I said I would be. I just lost track of time." Luke said, not liking to have to report to his younger cousin.

"You lost track of time? That's your excuse?" Bo glared at Luke.

Luke got angry, "Yeah, that's my excuse, and since when do I have to explain myself to you!" He poked Bo in the chest.

"Boys..."

Bo shoved Luke's finger away. "No, Uncle Jesse. Luke obviously needs to get something off his chest."

"Yeah, I do. You need to get off my case. The doctor says I'm fine. There are no lasting effects from the accident. I don't get dizzy any more. I don't get headaches and I don't get any more blurry visions, so you need to back off!" Luke was on a roll now and he was taking a step with every sentence. "I don't need you hovering over me and I sure as heck, don't need my baby cousin telling me what I can and can't do! If you haven't noticed, Bo, I've been looking after myself for a long time now. I...don't...need...you!" The silence which followed that was deafening. Bo stared at Luke with so much pain and at the same time, emptiness, if that was even possible.

"You're right. You don't need me." Bo finally broke the silence. He turned around and went in the house.

Luke closed his eyes and sighed. "I'm sorry, Uncle Jesse."

"It's okay, Luke. I know Bo's been suffocating you. Just give him some time to calm down before talking to him again." Jesse said. They headed into the house only to hear a lot of noise coming from Bo and Luke's room. Jesse and Luke exchanged looks before entering the room. They were shocked when they saw Bo packing a bag. He was grabbing a bit of everything. Mostly the essentials.

"Bo, what are you doing?" Luke was afraid to hear the answer.

"Leaving." Bo answered simply.

"Aw, come on, Bo, just because of what I said?" Luke grabbed his arm to stop him from packing any more things. Bo froze, but didn't say anything. "I'm sorry."

"You got nothing to be sorry about." Bo pulled his arm out of Luke's grip and continued. Luke looked at his uncle helplessly.

"Bo, are you really going to leave the farm?" Jesse asked.

"It ain't hard. Heck, y'all don't need me." Bo finished shoving his clothes in the bag, then placing it on his bed to zip it up. He turned to them with his bag in his hand. "Bye." He tried to push past them but Luke grabbed his arm again.

"You can't just leave." Luke said through clenched teeth. "We all need you. I just meant that you can stop taking care of me. I'm fine."

"Good for you, but I'm not. I can't keep doing this." Bo could feel himself losing control. He needed to get out of here before he broke down.

"Keep doing what, Bo?"

"Being scared!" Bo burst out, "Every time you or Uncle Jesse or Daisy are out of my sight. I get scared that I won't ever see any of you again. I don't like this feeling but ever since your accident, that's all I've been feeling. I don't want to feel like this anymore. I'm leaving." Bo shoved past them and out of the house. Luke and Jesse followed but Bo was already in the General and off.

"Bo!" Luke ran after him but it was no use. "Aaaah!" He screamed in frustration. Jesse came up to him and put his arm around his shoulder. "What do we do, Uncle Jesse?"

"We find him and bring him home." Jesse said simply.

Luke jumped in Jesse's pick up. "I'm going after him. I'll call you on the CB if I find him." Jesse nodded. He prayed Luke would find Bo. Jesse should've known he had let the issue to fester for too long. He kept thinking the situation would sort itself out once Luke was back on his feet, but it had just gotten worse and worse. He looked up to sky. "Lord, we may need your help on this one?"


	5. Keeping Watch

**Author's note: Firstly, thanks to Hazzard66 for helping me get my muse back. I was running out of ideas and thanks to her numerous ideas, I finally came up with this story. Secondly, I was asked to give Bo a break and torture Luke instead. I tried, but this is the best I could come up with. Still the story focuses more on Bo, I can't help it. Hope y'all like it!**

**Warning: Not beta-ed and hence I apologise for the grammatical errors.**

**Disclaimer: Again, I don't own the Dukes or any characters in the Dukes of Hazzard.**

Luke had been driving around for over two hours now, but he hadn't seen any sign of the General or Bo. He picked up and CB and tried Bo again. "Lost Sheep two, this is lost sheep one. Please come back!" Nothing. "Bo, I know you can hear. We need to talk. Come back!" Luke waited, but he was only met by silence. "Dang it, Bo! You can't just tell me all that and just leave!" Luke threw the transmitter on the seat beside, getting frustrated. He couldn't find Bo and he couldn't get Bo to come to him. What could he do? "Why couldn't you just talk to me, Bo? Heck, most of the time I can't get you to shut up!" Luke stopped the pick-up on the side of the road. "Come on, Bo. Where are you?"

* * *

Bo had driven up to the Indian caves, but not the same ones he used to go to with Luke, he knew Luke would look there for him. He was lying on the hood of the General when he heard Luke calling over the CB, but Bo couldn't handle a talk with Luke right now. There was no way he could talk to Luke and remain calm. Bo was tempted to turn the CB off completely, but without Luke's presence, the only way he could be sure that Luke was okay, was to listen to his voice. And for some crazy reason, he also took comfort in it. "Please, Luke. Just leave me alone." Bo didn't really understand why he was running away, but he knew that it hurt too much to live in fear, the way he was doing. He figured, if he pushed his family away, then it wouldn't hurt so much if they did leave him. If Bo could distance himself from his family then maybe he won't care so much for them. The less he cared, the less he would hurt. However, now that he was off the farm, he wanted so badly to be back there again. He guessed that was why he was still listening to the CB.

* * *

Luke picked up the CB and changed it to broadcast to all channels. "This is Luke Duke calling anyone on the Hazzard Net. If anyone's seen Bo Duke, please CB me his 20 on channel 17. I'm gone." Luke sighed and changed the channel to 17, praying that he would get a response soon. After another two hours of driving and not finding Bo, he returned to the farm, hoping Jesse could come up with a plan to find Bo.

He got back to the farm to find that Daisy was back from the Boar's Nest and Cooter had also joined them. They were sitting at the table when he walked in. "I take it you didn't find him." Jesse said.

"He won't answer me and I can't find him." Luke sat down, exhausted. "I don't know how to help him."

"Anyone have any ideas?" Daisy asked them. They shook their heads sadly.

"Call me crazy, but y'all think about how badly Luke's accident affected Bo?" Cooter asked them.

"Of course we did, Cooter. We just figured Bo would be back to his old self when Luke returned to the farm. I didn't think it would get his far." Jesse was blaming himself. He knew there was a problem but he didn't do anything about it.

"Uncle Jesse, it's not your fault. Heck, I'm the idiot who told him I didn't need him." Luke buried his head in his hands. "I do need him." He said softly.

"We all do, Luke." Daisy rubbed Luke's shoulder. "Anyway, I felt something was wrong that night at dinner, the day of your accident." Daisy remembered that day. "He was asking Uncle Jesse if he could work on the General and then he said something, he said...'it's what Luke would want. It's what Luke would do.' Guys, I think Bo's been acting so strange lately because he's been trying to handle all that's happened the way you would, Luke."

"You can't be serious, Daisy. That's just..."

"Exactly what's going on." Jesse finished for Luke. "I noticed it as well. I talked to him at the hospital and he said he needed to grow up because you were going to be out of commission for a while." Luke didn't like the sound of any of this. "Don't you see, Luke? Bo's trying to take care of this family the way you would. The only problem is he's not you." Now that they were all talking about it, a lot of things in the past few weeks were becoming clearer. "I don't think I've seen Bo cry, just let everything go and cry. He's never one to hold back on how he's feeling and hearing that you might not survive, is something that would make him break down. It's almost like he's deliberately holding it in."

Luke looked at Cooter. "You told me something similar."

Cooter nodded, "That's right. I hate to say this, but I think Jesse and Daisy are right."

Luke folded his arms and leaned back. "So do I. Only two questions to answer now. How do we find him and how do we help him?" They each looked around the table. Luke slammed his fist on the table and stood up, causing everyone to jump. "Dang it! Why didn't he talk to me? He didn't have to go through this by himself!" He ran both hands through his hair with so much force that Jesse thought he would pull his hair out. "This is my fault. I knew there was something wrong but all I did was argue with him, complain about him hovering! Uncle Jesse, we need to get him back." Jesse came up to him and pulled him into an embrace.

"We will. We will."

* * *

They didn't know it, but Bo was watching the house with their binoculars from the trees. He got anxious when he didn't hear anyone on the CB and needed to know if his family was okay. He gave a small smile when he could see his family sitting at the table with Cooter. He fought the urge to go down there and barge into the house. To tell them that he never wanted to leave them, but he knew it was better off like this. Maybe if he stayed away long enough, they would forget him and his pain would fade away. People did say that time heals all wounds, Bo was about to test that theory. Tonight, Bo would watch over his family and tomorrow, he would leave Hazzard County.

* * *

Luke pulled away from his uncle and looked out the window. He suddenly had a sinking feeling that they may never see Bo again. "He wants to stop hurtin', Uncle Jesse. When he ran out, he said that he was always scared that something would happen to us. He wants to distance himself from us, he thinks he can stop caring if he stays away." Luke wiped away his tears and turned back to his family and friend. "He's going to leave Hazzard County."

"Come on, Lukas. There's no need to be so grim. Bo's only been gone for half a day." Cooter tried to look on the bright side, but he knew there has always been a bond between these two and if Luke thought this, then it was probably true.

"Heck, he's probably watching us now." Luke guessed and it was a good one.

"How can you know that, Luke?" Daisy wished it was true but there was no way of knowing.

"Because it's what I would do, but not only that. Bo loves this family too much to be able to just leave without seeing us one last time." Luke looked back out the window and straight out into the trees. It was dark out, but he knew Bo was there. "He's out there."

* * *

Bo was looking at the window in the kitchen and he saw Luke looking out the window. His heart skipped a beat when, for one split second, Luke looked straight at him, as if he knew Bo was there. Bo lowered the binoculars and scrambled back behind a tree. It was until the beating of his heart slowed down that he realised there was no way Luke could see him in the dark at that distance. He came back out and resumed watching his family again.

* * *

"If he is out there, how long until he decides to leave town?" Jesse asked Luke, who had no doubt that his nephew was right.

"I don't know. Tomorrow, morning maybe. He won't leave tonight, because as much as he's trying to be like me, he's still Bo and Bo won't be able to help but watch over us the entire night. Like I said, he loves us too much." Luke sat back down, looking determined. "So we have a night to work out a plan that will get us Bo back, because I ain't losing my cousin."

Cooter scratched his head looking a like he wanted to say something but at the same time, he didn't. "Cooter Davenport, spit it out before you choke on it!" Jesse grumbled. Daisy and Luke chuckled at Cooter's expression, despite the mood.

"Well, if you're right and Bo is watching us. You think he'd be listening to the CB as well?" Cooter asked.

"I don't think he is, I know he is." Luke was as sure of this as he was sure that the sun will rise in the east.

"Then, if we can't find Bo. Maybe we can lure him out." Cooter said, "I have an idea that will get Bo out here for sure, but y'all ain't gonna like it."

"What is it, Cooter?" Daisy asked, not liking the look on Cooter's face.

"If Luke was to get in another accident..."

Jesse jumped up from his chair, more angrier than a mamma bear protecting her cub. "No way, no how! There is no way we're putting Bo through that again, even if it isn't real!" Luke got up and put his hand out to gesture for his uncle to calm down. Daisy got up and rubbed Jesse's shoulders to coax him to sit down. She didn't like the sound of Cooter's idea either.

Luke sat back down when his uncle calmed down. He didn't like Cooter's idea, but it was the only way to get Bo out in the open. "Look, Uncle Jesse. I don't want to put Bo through that again either, but it's the only sure fire way to get Bo to come out."

Jesse shook his head, "No," He took his handkerchief out and wiped his eyes. "You didn't see Bo's face when Enos told him you were in an accident. You didn't see Bo's face when the doctor told him you might not live." Jesse got up slowly, "It may be our only choice, but I ain't going to be a part of it." He left the table and headed for his room.

Daisy sat back down and looked at the boys. "He's right," she told them, "and if you do go through with this, you have to be prepared for the consequences. If you can't convince Bo to stay, we'll lose him forever. He'll never trust us again."

Luke nodded. He knew it was true. "The thing is, Daisy, if we don't try, we've already lost him." Daisy didn't want to believe that but she knew her cousin was right.

"Okay, I'll help y'all. What's the plan?" They sat there talking and coming up with a plan that would get Bo out in the open so they could talk. Cooter went home after they finished with the planning and Daisy went to bed. Luke, however, could not sleep. Not while his cousin was out there. He stepped outside and sat on the porch steps, looking out towards the trees. He knew his cousin was there and he knew Bo would want to be able to see him. Luke would stay here all night if it provided comfort to his baby cousin.

* * *

Bo watched Luke sitting on the steps. He smiled. Even when Luke couldn't see him, he was still looking out for him. He realised Luke probably knew he was here, but he wouldn't come looking because he wouldn't risk Bo running. "I'm sorry, Luke, but I can't do what you do." Bo made himself comfortable against a tree. Bo watched the farm the entire night, while Luke fell asleep on the porch. Bo shook his head at Luke's stubbornness. When the sun rose, Bo watched as Luke got up and started his chores. He knew he should leave now, but he couldn't bring himself to look away. Another hour, he told himself. Another hour and he'll leave Hazzard County.


	6. Letting it out

**Author's note: Firstly, thanks to Hazzard66 for helping me get my muse back. I was running out of ideas and thanks to her numerous ideas, I finally came up with this story. Secondly, I was asked to give Bo a break and torture Luke instead. I tried, but this is the best I could come up with. Still the story focuses more on Bo, I can't help it. Hope y'all like it!**

**Warning: Not beta-ed and hence I apologise for the grammatical errors.**

**Disclaimer: Again, I don't own the Dukes or any characters in the Dukes of Hazzard.**

Luke finished his chores and looked over to the trees. "I know you're still there, Bo. I'm sorry, but I have to do this." He went into the house and grabbed the keys to Dixie. Cooter had come by the farm to pick up Daisy for, what looked to be, work, but they would be on the side of the road waiting for Luke.

"You going to do it?" Jesse asked him from his seat in the lounge room.

"Yeah, I am. I'll bring him home, Uncle Jesse." Luke promised and left the house.

"I know, but in what condition?" Jesse feared. He got up and sat by the CB, knowing he would be hearing what was happening.

* * *

Luke drove the Dixie for about twenty minutes before putting the plan to action. He took a deep breath. Once he did this there was no turning back. Luke picked up the CB and started calling for help. "This is Lost Sheep calling anyone on the Hazzard Net!" He said in a panicked tone. "I'm on Lawsons Drive heading towards Choctaw County. I lost my bra..." Luke turned the CB off. He prayed Bo was listening to that. Now, he had to roll the car. Daisy hated this part of the plan, but she had agreed. "Here goes." Luke drove the car up the side of the road slowly causing the Dixie to tip on it's side as gently as possible. Luke waited for Dixie to stop rocking before getting out and looking in the trees to find Daisy and Cooter. Cooter gave him the thumbs up before ducking behind a tree.

* * *

Bo was heading out of the county when Luke's call for help came over the CB. He braked hard and froze. Bo was shaking. "This can't be happening." He was about to pick up and reply but the transmission was cut off. Bo turned the car around, heading in the direction Luke had called out before he was cut off. "Luke's okay, Luke's okay, Luke's okay, Luke's okay..." Bo repeated this over and over again as he drove. His grip on the steering wheel was so tight, he would need to pry them lose when he got there. Bo was trying his hardest to concentrate on the road and not on the images he saw in his nightmares. Seeing the Dixie on it's side was almost enough to cause him to throw up. He scrambled out of the General.

"LUKE!" He ran over to see Luke sitting against the hood of the Dixie. Luke got up straight away when he heard his cousin's call.

"Bo!" He pulled him into a hug. Turning him so that Bo had his back to the General. Luke could see Cooter and Daisy sneak out of the bushes and open the General's hood. Bo pulled back to check on his cousin.

"Are you okay? Did you hit your head?" Bo checked Luke's head for any bumps and moved to check his ribs and arms. "We should get you to the doctor, just in case."

"Bo, calm down. I'm not injured." Luke put his hands on Bo's shoulders to calm him. "Really, I just rolled Dixie. It wasn't bad."

Bo frowned, "But I heard you. You lost your brakes. The CB..." Bo looked at the black box and reached in. Luke tried to stop him but he knew he couldn't keep up the charade much longer anyway. Bo turned the switch. It turned on. "It works." He turned to Luke, jaws clenched, eyes blazing. "You tricked me. The brakes didn't go."

"I'm sorry, Bo. But we couldn't think of any other way to get you here." Bo spun around to get back into the General but stopped when Cooter and Daisy were standing in front of the General Lee. Cooter was holding the spark plug in his hand.

"I'm sorry, Bo." Cooter felt like a dirty rat when Bo looked at him. Daisy flinched. She had never been on the receiving end of Bo's anger.

"Bo, don't blame them..." Bo spun around and grabbed Luke by the shirt.

"Do you have any idea what you just put me through?" Bo growled. "I drove here thinking the worst had happened to you, that my nightmares were coming true or that I had to live through _that_ again!" He shoved Luke back and threw a right hook causing Luke to fall back on the ground.

"Luke!" Daisy screamed. Cooter went to grab Bo but Bo just shoved him off and pulled Luke back up. He threw another punch and sending Luke back to the ground. Luke knew he couldn't let this go on much longer. He recovered quickly and barrelled into Bo's stomach, pushing him to the ground. They struggled for the upper hand when they heard Daisy scream and the next thing they knew they were rolling down the side of the road. They came to a stop with Luke on top, giving him the advantage he needed. "Bo!" Luke sat up and pinned Bo's arms to each side of his head by the wrists while sitting on his legs. Bo continued struggling but there was no way he could get out. Luke waited until Bo ran out of steam.

"Let me go!" Bo hollered at him. "Let me go!" He arched his back but Luke's hold on him was too strong.

Daisy and Cooter were watching them from above. Cooter was about to head down to pull the boys apart but he saw that Luke had control of the situation for now. "I'm calling Uncle Jesse." She got on the CB. "Shepherd, this is Bo Peep. You gotcha ears on, come back!"

"_This is Shepherd. What happened, Daisy?"_

"Uncle Jesse, you need to get over here. Bo's so upset and I don't think Luke's going to be able to handle it this time. They're fighting and they rolled down the hill and now Luke has Bo pinned but..." Daisy was upset and Jesse could hear it.

"_Daisy, slow down. I'm coming. You just keep calm. I'm gone." _

Daisy put the CB down and walked back over to Cooter. Cooter put his arm around her. "Don't worry. Luke can handle it."

Daisy shook her head. "I don't think he can. Not this time."

Bo finally ran out of energy. He laid there breathing hard. Luke didn't let him go. He finally got Bo out from hiding in the most painful way possible. He couldn't let all the effort go to waste by risking him bolting if he let go.

"Can we talk now?" Luke asked his cousin who had his eyes closed, trying to catch his breath. Luke flinched when Bo opened his eyes. They were filled with so much rage that Luke could swear he could see the storm brewing behind them.

"We have NOTHING to talk about." Bo may be tired but that didn't put out the fire.

"Bo, I know what I did was wrong, but how else was I suppose to get you to come out?" Luke was tired as well but it didn't take much effort to keep Bo down as long as he could use his entire body weight. "You can't just tell us you're leaving and walk out. Heck, did you think we wouldn't look for you?"

"Of course you'd look for me, Luke. You can't let anything go! You always have to protect me, protect the family. Well, you can stop protecting me now because I'm leaving and there's nothing you can do about it!" Bo resumed struggling again, even though there was no point in it. Luke's grip on his wrists tightened. "Aaaah! GET OFF ME!"

"No! You are going to tell what the heck has gotten into you!" Luke yelled back. Bo let his head fall back. "You tell me _everything _and I'll let you go."

"Fine. You want to know _everything._" Bo spat back, looking Luke in the eyes. "I've barely slept since your accident. That first day I saw you at the hospital, I was so sure you were going to die, but I couldn't let anyone know that and the only person I wanted to talk to was lying in that bed. When I saw the General, I couldn't understand how you were even alive." Luke started to regret asking Bo to tell him everything, but it was too late now because Bo was talking like he was possessed and now that he opened the floodgates, noone could stop him, so Luke just listened. "The driver's side was smashed, the windscreen had a crack that was made by your head. All I could see was you sitting there with blood everywhere. And then I saw Rosco and I wanted to kill him!" Bo watched as Luke's eyes widened at that revelation. "That's right, Luke. I wanted to kill him for putting you in that hospital bed. Cooter kept telling me I should let it all out, but if I did then Rosco wouldn't be breathing right now and neither would Boss. I kept myself busy so that I could keep that rage and the images of you at bay. And then there's the nights when I kept having nightmares of you leaving me and you wouldn't let me follow you because Uncle Jesse and Daisy needed me." Luke was finding listening to this harder and harder. "And then, you woke up and I thought everything was going to be okay, but it just made everything worse. I jumped at every stumble, every dizzy spell, every headache you got, and I saw how frustrated you were getting at me for hovering over you, but I couldn't stop because I was so scared that you get hurt again."

"Bo, you could've told Uncle Jesse or Daisy or even Cooter. They would've helped you. You didn't have to go through that by yourself." Why didn't Luke see all this before?

"But that wasn't the worse part." Bo continued as if he didn't even hear what Luke was saying, "I was making everything worse by trying to protect you. All we do is argue. I don't remember a day since your accident where we would just talk like we use to. I want everything back to normal but I'm so angry and scared every day that I can't even think beyond keeping everyone safe. That day you drove to the Boar's Nest. I had to keep myself busy to stop myself from thinking the worst, but those images still keep sneaking in. I can't get through one day without thinking about it, Luke and it's all because you almost left me! You almost died and would've left me here alone! I need to get away from Hazzard, from you, if I want to stay sane!"

Luke shook his head, he knew that wasn't the reason why Bo want to get away. "That's not why you're leaving. You're leaving because you're hoping that if you distance yourself from us, you don't have to worry about losing us. You said it yourself, I dared to try to leave you and you can't deal with that. So you're trying to take yourself from the situation. You think the distance will make you care less." Bo looked at Luke in shock. He didn't understand how Luke would've known that. "It's true, isn't it? You don't want to care because you're afraid of getting hurt. The problem with that is, you're Bo Duke. Distance can't stop you from caring about us and you can't let the fear of losing us keep you away from the people you love. If you do that, than you've already lost us."

Bo refused to believe what Luke was saying. He had to try otherwise he would lose his sanity. "You don't know that!"

"Yes, I do. Do you think I cared about you any less when I was in Vietnam? If anything, it made me realise how much I do care about my family and friends. It's you, that helped me survive the war, it's you that motivated me to keep doing what I was doing and to get home alive. I was away for four years, Bo. So, yeah, I do know that what you are thinking will never work." Luke let Bo's hand go, when he felt the fight leave Bo. "You can't leave us, Bo. We care about you too much to let you go."

Bo shook his head, defeated and scared because there was nothing he could do to stop him from feeling the way he did. "What do I do then? There's nothing I can do. I can't stay, but I can't leave."

"You do what you're best at, Bo." Bo and Luke turned to the voice. Jesse was standing at the base of the slope they had rolled down. "Let him up, Luke." Luke nodded and got off his cousin. Bo scrambled up and backed himself up against a tree, hugging his knees to his chest, looking very much like a lost little boy. Jesse knelt down next to him and put a hand to his shoulder. "You have to let it all out, Bo. All the feelings you've kept inside you since Luke's accident. You have to let it all go."

Bo shook his head. "I can't. If I do, they won't stop coming."

"Yes, they will and we'll be here for the entire time it takes for them to stop. Your whole family and your friends will never leave you." Jesse drew Bo into his arms. He knew Bo was on the edge now and one small tap was all that was needed to bring him over. Jesse kissed him on the head, the small tap. Bo held onto his uncle as if he was a lifeline and let the tears flow. Once they started, he couldn't stop them. The trembling and sobbing got so violent, Jesse almost regretted his advice. He hugged Bo to him as tight as he could. Luke walked over and knelt beside his cousin. He had never seen his cousin like this and he never wanted to again. Luke looked over at Daisy and Cooter. Daisy was crying in Cooter's arms and Cooter's eyes weren't dry either. They surrounded their youngest from the rest of the world as he finally let go of all the anger, frustration and pain. It was over half an hour before Bo's painful sobbing started to die down. He was still trembling but it wasn't so bad now.

"You ready to come home?" Jesse asked when he felt Bo had calmed down enough. Bo nodded. He and Luke helped Bo up. Jesse didn't like the way Bo kept his eyes down as if he were embarrassed about his breakdown. Jesse tip his head up by the chin and then placed a hand on his cheek. He gave Bo a gentle smile. "There's no need to be embarrassed. The Bo I know, was never afraid to show how he felt." Bo returned the smile and nodded. "Let's go home." He led Bo over to the slope and started making their way up. Half way up, Bo suddenly felt very weak. He stopped to try and get his bearings but the ground wouldn't stop moving.

"It's okay, Bo. I've got ya." Luke told him. He pulled Bo arm over his shoulder and pulled him up the slope. Cooter grabbed him when they were almost to the top and pulled him the rest of the way. "You okay, Bo?" Luke asked when Bo collapsed to his knees. Jesse put a hand on his head, but didn't feel a fever.

"I think he's just exhausted, Luke. I'm guessing he hasn't eaten since he ran out yesterday. That right, Bo?" Bo looked up at Jesse and nodded, not trusting his voice. "Come. I'll take you home in my pick-up." Luke pulled him up and helped him into the car.

"I'll see you at home." Luke said. Bo didn't look at him. He couldn't, not after everything he said today. Luke, on the other hand, thought Bo was still angry at him for tricking him. "You're going to be okay." He said before closing the door. Jesse drove away. Luke turned to see Cooter getting Dixie back on four wheels. "You got the General's spark plug?"

"I've put it back in already." Cooter called. "You go ahead. I'll have Dixie back on her feet in no time for Daisy."

"Cooter's right, Luke." Daisy said as she hugged her cousin. "You go home and take care of Bo. I'll be home soon." Luke nodded against her shoulder and pulled back.

"Thanks for everything, Cooter." Luke shook his hand and then climbed into the General and headed home.

On the drive home, Luke was thinking about everything Bo had told him. He couldn't believe that Bo went through so much in such a short time. He was angry at himself for not doing anything sooner. He saw all the signs and he was told about how Bo had been acting while he was unconscious, why didn't he do anything earlier? And that stupid plan! Luke slammed his hand on the steering wheel. What was he thinking putting Bo through that? It was reckless and almost cost him his cousin. If it weren't for Jesse, Bo would probably be halfway across the county by now. What was happening to them? Bo and Luke's relationship had always been easy. How could one accident change everything so badly? He needed to get home and take care of his cousin. The way he use to do, the way his cousin needed him to. Luke pulled the car up to the farm and saw that his uncle was having trouble getting Bo into the house. Bo looked as if he could barely stand.

"Uncle Jesse! What's wrong?" Luke came up to them and pulled Bo's arm over his shoulder. Jesse opened the door and they got him into the house and to their room. Luke lowered Bo onto the bed. "Is he okay? Should we call the Doc?" Luke looked at his uncle. He didn't understand why his uncle was so calm.

"Bo's exhausted, Luke. He's just sleeping." Luke looked back at his cousin and checked his temperature and pulse. Jesse chuckled, just like that their roles have reverted to what it use to be. "He's probably barely had a good night's sleep since the accident and with all the extra work he's been doing, not to mention the emotional roller-coaster he just came off, he's bound to be tired. Let him sleep. I'm going to make some soup for when he wakes up." Luke nodded, not taking his eyes off his cousin. He took off his cousin's belt and pulled out his shirt to make him more comfortable.

"We still have stuff to clear up when you wake up, Cuz, but I can wait. You sleep. I'll keep the nightmares away." Luke chuckled to himself. That was something he used to tell a five year old, Bo, when he couldn't sleep because of the monsters under his bed. Luke went outside and grabbed a chair from the dining and brought it back into the room, so that he could watch over his cousin. He smiled, Bo looked so peaceful right now. He couldn't see the tension from all the stress any more. Luke didn't realise how much he missed his carefree cousin and he was going to make sure he never leaves again.


	7. Home again

**Author's note: Firstly, thanks to Hazzard66 for helping me get my muse back. I was running out of ideas and thanks to her numerous ideas, I finally came up with this story. Secondly, I was asked to give Bo a break and torture Luke instead. I tried, but this is the best I could come up with. Still the story focuses more on Bo, I can't help it. Hope y'all like it!**

**Warning: Not beta-ed and hence I apologise for the grammatical errors.**

**Disclaimer: Again, I don't own the Dukes or any characters in the Dukes of Hazzard.**

Jesse poked his head in the room about half an hour later. "Lunch is ready." He whispered, even though he knew that a tank could drive through the house and Bo wouldn't wake up. Luke nodded and took one last look at his cousin before leaving the room.

Daisy and Cooter were at the table already. He gave them a smile. "You guys get back long?"

"About twenty minutes ago. We didn't want to bother you or Bo. Jesse told us how exhausted he is." Cooter answered. He looked down at his hands which were resting on the table. It was obviouse to the rest of them that he was feeling guilty about coming up with the plan of luring Bo out to see them, but there was no way the Duke family would let Cooter take full responsibility for the plan.

Daisy laid a hand on his. "The three of us agreed to the plan." She said intuitively, "It's not just your responsibility. It's all of ours."

"But I'm the one who..."

"But nothing. I agreed to it and I knew how it would affect Bo." Luke turned to Jesse. "I'm sorry, I should've listened to you. If you hadn't come when you did, I don't know what would've happened." Luke shivered at the thought of life at the farm without Bo. It would be dull and cold. The farm would not have the life Bo gives it, the warmth he gives when he hugs them and gives that smile that shines through his eyes.

Jesse shook his head, "I heard what you said to him, Luke. You were getting through and it gave me the chance to get close to him. You knew exactly how he was feeling and why he was feeling that way. Almost like you felt it yourself." And Jesse had no doubt that Luke did feel it. "You did good, Luke. I may not have agreed with your method to get him to come out, but in the end, Bo's here, with us and that's what counts." Jesse put a bowl of soup in front of him.

"Yeah, he's back, but will he ever forgive me for doing what I did?" Luke spooned at his soup, "He wouldn't even look at me when I was helping him into the pick-up."

"That's your guilt talking. If you really think that, then you don't know your cousin as well as I thought you did." Jesse told him. He sat down at the table and said grace. "Amen."

"Amen."

"Talk to your cousin, Luke. You'll see what I mean." Jesse said cryptically. Luke frowned, but he had learned for a long time now that his uncle always knew best. He prayed that his uncle was right, but then if Bo wasn't angry then the only other reason why he wouldn't look at Luke would be because he was ashamed. What would Bo have to be ashamed about? Luke could see Jesse eyeing him. Jesse knew Luke's brain worked fast, so it wouldn't take much for him to work out why Bo acted the way he did. He could already hear the gears turning in his head.

Daisy didn't understand what her uncle meant but she knew he was right. Jesse was almost always right. He's the one that keeps the family together. "I don't know what we would do without you, Uncle Jesse." Daisy smiled as she dipped a piece of bread in the soup.

Cooter's humour came back then, "We wouldn't have good food, that's for sure." He and Luke exchanged cheeky grins as they waited for Daisy to catch on.

"Hey!" Daisy smacked Cooter. Jesse and Luke kept their head down, trying to hide their laughter. "Y'all take that back or I ain't ever cookin' for y'all again!"

All three men threw their hand's up in surrender, allowing Daisy the satisfaction of getting what she wanted. Mostly because they knew Daisy would get them back if they didn't. Luke still remembered his shorts and how Daisy had put grit in them because he and Bo beat her in a race. He sighed, it's been a while since they were this relaxed at meal time. He just wished the next time they have a meal, Bo would be here, joining in with the fun.

* * *

After lunch, Cooter had to go open up the Garage, before people thought he was closing down. Daisy had a late shift at the Boar's Nest and Jesse went out to feed the baby farm animals. That left Luke alone to watch over Bo. He entered to room to find Bo curled up on his side looking very snuggly. Luke sat down on the edge of the bed and brushed Bo's hair aside, resting his hand on the side of Bo's neck. "What are you thinking, Bo? Uncle Jesse says you're not angry with me for what I did, but if that's not it, why wouldn't you look at me?" Luke pulled his hand back when he saw that Bo was waking up. Bo opened his eyes. He groaned as he rolled onto his back, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. He froze when he saw that Luke was sitting on his bed. That one look was all it took for Luke to realise that Jesse was right. There was no anger there, only guilt, but for what, Luke still needed to find out. "Feeling better?"

"Um..." Bo pushed himself up and leaned against head board, "yeah, I guess so." Luke sighed when Bo wouldn't look at him.

"You wanna tell me why you're looking as if you betrayed me?" Luke got straight to the point. There has been too much tip-toeing around these past couple of months and it didn't do them any good. It was not the way the Duke family did things and now they know why.

Bo frowned, even though Luke couldn't see it because his head was down. Bo wondered if it was possible to hide anything from Luke. "I'm sorry." Bo said quietly.

Now, Luke was confused. "Okay, I'll humor you. What for?"

Bo was fiddling with the corner of his shirt. "For everything. I didn't know how to handle it all, so I blamed you for everything. I blamed you for almost dying on me." Bo drew his legs in and turned away from Luke so that he was facing the wall.

Luke sighed, so that's the reason. Lord, why won't Bo just give himself a break! "Bo, do you really blame me for almost dying? Because if you do, I'm really sorry for almost dying." Luke said, knowing that sounded ridiculous and wanting Bo to hear how ridiculous it sounded.

"Of course I don't blame you. It was just a stupid accident. Weren't even Rosco's fault." Bo answered, feeling like such an idiot for the way he had been behaving since the accident. All he had to do was talk to his family, just like he did with all his problems.

"Then what the heck are you feeling guilty for?" Luke reached over and turned Bo around, holding him by the shoulder so that he couldn't turn away. "You were angry and wanted to get away, so you tried to say the most hurtful thing to get me to let you go. The problem with your plan is that I know you too well. Not to mention, I promised you that I would never leave you, when I came back from Vietnam, I sure as hell ain't going to let you leave me!"

Bo wrapped his arms around Luke's neck, surprising Luke with the sudden action and holding on so fiercely that he almost cut off Luke's air. It didn't matter to Luke, for all he cared he could pass out. Bo was back to his old self and Luke could look forward to the next meal and the meal after that, because the table would be filled with chatter and not the silence plaguing the family in the past, but before that could happen, he had one more thing to say. He pulled back and looked Bo in the eye. "Bo, promise me you'll never keep your feelings in the way you did. I don't ever want to see you that way again. You've always been able to talk to me, I don't want that to change..._ever._"

Bo's eyes were wet again. It was rare for Luke to express himself like this, even to Bo. Bo was always the one to seek assurance from his cousin, rarely the other way. "I promise." The truth was, whether or not he made that promise, Bo never wanted to feel that way again. To live in fear of something that was beyond his control. It felt so frivolous. Not to mention it caused so much concern and pain for his family. And then there was Rosco and Boss Hogg. He groaned when he thought about that causing Luke to worry.

"What's wrong?" Luke asked, worried that Bo felt worse than they first thought.

"I'm going to need to apologise to Boss Hogg and Rosco." Luke laughed in relief as well as at the tone of Bo's voice. He sounded like it was Christmas and he just found out Santa Claus doesn't exist. "They're going to make it unbearable." Bo's eyes narrowed at the look forming on Luke's face. He knew this look, it meant Luke was coming up with a plan.

"I have an idea that would make it less painful." Luke grinned. Bo raised an eyebrow. "I promise, Bo, you'll like it." Bo thought about that. Luke had yet to break a promise. A grin matching Luke's grew on Bo's face.

"Okay, what's the plan?"

"First, we get you something to eat and then you can sleep again. Once I'm satisfied that you've caught up on your sleep, I'll let you in on the plan." Luke said, "In that order. No compromise."

Bo pouted and then realised that everything was getting back to normal. Luke was taking care of him again. He looked at Luke with admiration. "How do you do it?"

Luke was confused, "Do what?"

"Take care of us, worry about us and not go crazy." Bo clarified.

Luke shrugged, "I've been looking out for you and Daisy since y'all moved in. It's what I do. Anyway, I don't understand how you always show how you're feeling and seek out comfort. You've always been the affectionate one, telling me when you're scared, when you're being picked on, when you just want a hug. You say you can't do what I do, but I can't do what you do." Luke looked at Bo to see if he understood that taking care of him was second nature to him, if he let worry cloud his vision, he wouldn't be able to protect him.

Bo smiled, "You really are the smart one, ain't ya?", and then regretted saying it once he saw Luke smug look. He threw his pillow at him, knowing Luke would probably bring up this admission whenever he could.

Luke knocked it away, laughing, "Come on. Let's get you something to eat." He helped Bo up and headed to the kitchen. Life at the farm was going to return to normal.


	8. Epilogue

**Author's note: Firstly, thanks to Hazzard66 for helping me get my muse back. I was running out of ideas and thanks to her numerous ideas, I finally came up with this story. Secondly, I was asked to give Bo a break and torture Luke instead. I tried, but this is the best I could come up with. Still the story focuses more on Bo, I can't help it. Hope y'all like it!**

**Warning: Not beta-ed and hence I apologise for the grammatical errors.**

**Disclaimer: Again, I don't own the Dukes or any characters in the Dukes of Hazzard.**

Epilogue:

Two days later, after the family was satisfied that Bo was sleeping and eating well again, Luke and Bo went out in the General Lee. "Okay, Bo. It's time for you to make up for what you said to Rosco and Boss Hogg." Luke said. "Rosco's speedtrap is coming up. Speed on through, but not too fast, just over the limit."

Bo frowned, "We're gonna get a ticket."

"Yep, that's the point. You owe, Rosco and Boss Hogg. There's no better way of doing it. Rosco gets the satisfaction of catching us and well, Boss Hogg gets twenty-five dollars, the same amount he would've got from that person he was trying to stick with the phoney ticket." Luke told him.

"Uncle Jesse ain't gonna like this." Bo didn't think this was Luke's best plan.

"Don't worry, I've spoken to Uncle Jesse. He agrees. Anyway, this is the only time Rosco's going to catch us for a while." Luke boasted.

Bo laughed, "Yeah, you're right." Bo sped up and drove through the speed trap and Rosco appeared straight away. They looked down at the CB when Rosco's voice came through.

"_Alright, you Duke boys. I gotcha this time! Pull ov..."_

Bo and Luke laughed as Rosco trailed off in confusion as Bo stopped the car. Rosco walked up to them. "What are you, Duke boys, up to?" He grumbled.

"What do you mean? You wanted us to pullover, didn't ya?" Bo looked over at Luke who just nodded.

Rosco was confused, "Well, yes...yes I did, but...well...since when did you boys do as I say?"

"Rosco, are you going to give us a ticket or not?" Luke asked, trying to not laugh at the Sheriff's expression.

"Of course I am going to give you a ticket." He wrote out a ticket and was about to hand it to Bo, who was eager to take it when Rosco pulled back. He ducked down further to look at Luke. "Um...Luke...I never told you how sorry I was for causing you to crash." He said uncomfortably.

"Aw, Rosco, it was just an accident. It wasn't anybody's fault." Luke tried to ease the Sheriff's guilt.

"Luke's right, Rosco. I had no right to blame you for it, so would you just give me the ticket?" Bo tried to grab it but Rosco put it behind his back and then grinned, thinking he had a good idea.

"No, no, I'm going to let you boys go this time. Then I don't have to feel so bad...kiew, kiew." Rosco tried to walk away but Bo grabbed his arm. He looked down and frowned at the hand on his arm. "What's wrong, that's all I'm going to do, so if you think you can get more out of me, you're dead wrong." He rubbed his index fingers together, "Shame, shame, everyone knows your name."

"Rosco, give me that, dang ticket!" Bo tried to grab it again.

"Ooh, no, no...you ain't getting the ticket." Rosco ran back to his patrol car. Bo turned back to Luke in shock.

"What do we do now, Luke?" Bo asked. They watched as Rosco sped past them.

"Go after him!" Luke pointed in the direction the Sheriff had gone. "Go!" Bo sped off after the Sheriff. Luke picked up the CB. "Rosco, you pull over right now and give us that ticket!"

"_Oooh, why can't you do Duke boys do what I say for once! I ain't giving you a ticket, so stop chasing me." _

Bo looked at Luke, "You do know how ridiculous this is, right?"

Luke didn't understand how such a simple plan can go so wrong. "You want to give up or keep chasing?"

"Dukes never give up, no matter how ridiculous we're being." Bo answer and continued the chase. Luke agreed, even though he felt like an idiot.

Rosco looked in his side mirror, "Oooh, hot pursuit! I love it, I love..." He looked down at Flash who was lying there looking extremely bored, "Is it still considered hot pursuit if I'm the pursuee and not the pursuer?" This really was a strange situation he was in. So this was how the Duke boys felt when being chased.

Bo and Luke chased Rosco around Hazzard for the day. All the people of Hazzard were talking about the strange sight of the General Lee chasing the Sheriff's patrol car. The General could easily out run the patrol car if it needed to, but they didn't want to cause any damage to the Sheriff's car otherwise it'll defeat the purpose of what they were trying to do. Then again, they've been chasing the Sheriff for so long now, they plum forgot why they were chasing him. One would say, everything was back to normal in Hazzard, but even this was strange for Hazzard.

The End!


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